As Amazon reported that Alexa was compatible with 20,000 products in September 2019, the company has "increased the number of products that support Alexa by 200%" over the last eight months.

Smartphones vs smart speakers

In terms of compatibility with smart devices, competing voice assistants like Google Assistant and Apple's Siri are lagging behind, with Google Assistant supporting "10,000 devices from more than 1,000 popular brands as of October 2018".

This number could have increased significantly since then if Alexa's growth is anything to go by – even so, Google has a long way to go if it's to catch up with Amazon.

The new Google Nest Hub Max (Image credit: TechRadar)

That margin could increase further still, since Google scrapped its 'Works with Nest' program following its integration of the home security brand and subsequent launch of the Google Nest Hub Max.

According to Engadget, Google's new privacy initiative will "allow data sharing between connected devices and apps, but only for a handful of tightly screened partners".